Croatia poised to clear final hurdle to adopting the euro

BRUSSELS (AP) — The European Union is set to remove the final obstacles tp Croatia adopting the euro. It will enable the first expansion of the currency bloc in almost a decade just as the euro has dropped to its weakest level against the dollar in 20 years. EU finance ministers on Tuesday plan to approve three laws that will pave the way for Croatia to become the 20th member of the eurozone on Jan. 1. The last EU country to join the European single-currency area was Lithuania in 2015. Adopting the euro offers economic benefits stemming from deeper financial ties with the currency bloc’s other members and from the European Central Bank’s monetary authority.